Brazil's Braskem sued in N.Y. court over Petrobras scandal

SAO PAULO, July 1 (Reuters) - A Braskem SA shareholder has
sued the Brazilian petrochemical producer, accusing it of being
involved in a graft scandal that has engulfed key stakeholders
Odebrecht and Petrobras and led to a selloff in Braskem's
U.S.-traded stock.

Plaintiff Douglas W. Peters is seeking class action status
for the lawsuit, filed in a Manhattan federal court on behalf of
individuals or institutions that purchased Braskem's American
depositary receipts between June 1, 2010 and March 11,
2015, according to court documents.

Braskem and four executives working for or linked with the
company are accused in the suit of making "materially false and
misleading statements regarding the company's business,
operational, and compliance policies." Such allegations do not
require proof that misstatements were made knowingly.

The list of defendants include Braskem Chief Executive
Officer Carlos Fadigas and his predecessor, Bernardo Gradin.
Marcela Drehmer, the chief financial officer of Odebrecht SA,
Brazil's largest engineering firm and Braskem's controlling
shareholder, was also named in the lawsuit.

Braskem, which has long-term contracts to buy naphtha from
state-run oil company Petrobras, also a major
shareholder and the epicenter of sweeping corruption scandal,
declined to comment. The other defendants could not immediately
be reached for comment.

More than 100 people have been indicted on charges including
corruption, money laundering and racketeering in the
investigation of an alleged cartel of engineering firms fixing
prices on contracts with the oil company formally known as
Petróleo Brasileiro SA.

Odebrecht's chief executive was arrested last month and
accused by prosecutors of playing a leading role in the scandal.

Shares of Braskem slumped 4.8 percent in late
afternoon trading in São Paulo, while ADRs shed 4.9 percent in
New York on Wednesday. The shares are down about a fifth so far
this year.
(Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Additional reporting by
Alberto Alerigi Jr, Aluísio Alves and Brad Haynes; Editing by
Christian Plumb)